illtemper.org

Feb 24

Anti-immigration sheriff in Arizona allegedly threatened to deport his Mexican lover -

from Boing Boing

Feb 23

(via 48 Pictures That Perfectly Capture The ’90s)

Feb 20

Piracy is about user experience, revisited -

from rc3.org

Feb 19

“What impact did these changes have on banks’ incentive to take risks? The answer was provided in 1974, around a hundred years after the introduction of limited liability, by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Merton, who showed that the equity of a limited liability company could be valued as if it were a financial option – that is, an instrument which offers rights over the future fruits of the company’s assets. This option has value – in the jargon, it is ‘in the money’ – provided a firm’s assets cover its debts. But the most extraordinary implication of Merton’s framework is that the value of those options can be enhanced by increases in the degree of uncertainty about the value of the bank’s assets. How so? Because while uncertainty increases both upside and downside risks, downside risks are capped by limited liability. For shareholders, the sky is the limit but the floor is always just beneath their feet. To maximise shareholder value, therefore, banks need simply to seek bigger and riskier bets.” — Andrew Haldane · The Doom Loop: Equity in Banking · LRB 23 February 2012

“It is the human friction that makes the sparks” -

from Chris Dixon

Feb 17

Oh my God, entertainment industry people are still pitching for SOPA -

from Boing Boing

“we have incurred significant operating losses in the past, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to achieve or maintain profitability, particularly given our significant ongoing
sales and marketing expenses. Our recent growth rate will likely not be sustainable, and a failure to maintain an adequate growth rate will adversely affect our results of operations and business;” — Amendment No. 4 to Form S-1